iMovie: The Missing Manual

Chapter 23. iMovie for iOS Trailers

Trailers, the 1- to 2-minute previews you see before a movie, have become a form of entertainment on their own. Today, it’s common for an action-movie trailer on YouTube to get millions of views before the film even hits theaters.

iMovie for the Mac pulls off super cool, complex tricks with its trailers feature (Chapter 13). Using high-quality animations, titles, and music, it lets you easily create a preview featuring your family, friends, or, heck, even your pets. With over two dozen trailer styles to choose from, you’re sure to find one that tells your story.

iMovie for iOS does the same thing, albeit with fewer styles (14 instead of 29). But it also offers something iMovie for the Mac can’t: the ability to both shoot and then build your trailer on your handheld device. This chapter explains how to do that and everything else trailer-related.

Note

Before you get too deeply into building an iOS trailer, note that you can’t convert it to a project and tweak it with custom edits on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Create a Trailer

To build a trailer, open the iMovie app, tap the + button, and then choose Trailer from the New Project screen. When you do, iMovie shows you a range of trailer styles, each with a unique thematic flair (Figure 23-1). Apple thoughtfully put together a preview for each trailer style so you can imagine what your story will look like. To preview a preview, select a style and then tap . Tap Create Trailer when you find one you ...